mono no aware

Mono no aware is not only “a Japanese idiom for the awareness of … the transience of things.” It’s a paradigm through which the Japanese view life. Linking this haibun to dVerse where Frank hosts.


Neighborhood cats chase one another through backyards, loudly caterwauling in the night. Five interested toms follow one breathless tabby who flees under the deck. Food dish is ignored in this spring mating frenzy. Once she’s bred, hormones calm, kittens develop and toms slink away.

Lilacs bud in May, one of the first blossoms to appear. The tight buds open to a thousand tiny flowerets, blooming in bunches of profligate purple display. The delicate scent of each cluster concentrates on fragrant breezes. After a few days, the heads wither and flowers fall.

Young couple speaks wedding vows on sunny May day. The bride wears sleeveless lace gown with tiny corseted waist and magnificent hoop skirt. A fingertip veil, lacey wristlets, and ballet flats complete her bridal finery. She dies of asthma complications a month past their 4th anniversary.

brief season of life
actors pass across the stage
cherish spring vignettes

photo by lynn__

for the love of lilacs

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Oh, the sweet promise
of budding lilacs which
soon bloom like true love;
delicate, sensuous flower
all glorious and lovely
with a heady scent.

But, it’s no surprise
when clouds blow in
and heavy rains beat
fragile blossoms down;
or the fragrance simply
fades with the season.

Wait, for the lilacs,
when love grows dormant,
for time comes around
and what faded is renewed;
dry twigs will green again
and flower more profusely.

If, it would endure,
love must be rooted
like a spreading lilac bush
in the nourishing earth,
anchored in something
greater than itself.